Meeting of the Parliament 30 October 2024
The numbers are increasing, and the number of those who are moving from the south to the north is higher than the number of those who are moving from Scotland to the rest of the UK, and the gap is growing, as was shown in the most recent publication of the data.
We believe that there is absolutely more work to be done to grow Scotland’s economy, to create confidence and to encourage yet more investment, but the Government’s track record over 17 years has many positives that we should be proud of. We will continue to work with businesses across Scotland to grow and strengthen Scotland’s economy.
I move amendment S6M-15061.2, to leave out from “believes” to end and insert
“condemns the impact of the former UK Conservative administration’s austerity and Brexit on the public finances and the wider economy; recognises that progressive taxation in Scotland has ensured that funding has been available to deliver actions to tackle poverty, like the Scottish Child Payment; notes that the latest available evidence shows that Scotland had positive net inward migration of taxpayers from the rest of the UK and was positive for every tax band; further notes that the process to develop the Scottish Budget for 2025-26 is underway; challenges those who would propose reducing tax rates to identify the public services that they would then cut to deliver the required balanced budget; deplores the call from the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party to introduce an illness tax in the form of prescription charges, and believes that the Baby Box, free prescriptions, free personal care, free eye examinations and free university tuition should be protected and sustained for the future.”
17:12Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.